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These past few weeks, I’ve tried to do “reset” tips – things that will get you grounded in “the firmament” of what it’s going to take in terms of technique and overall Strategy in order to fight off the inevitable technology and lifestyle changes that will challenge radio in both the present and the near future.
AM radios are already disappearing from cars. But in a couple of years, ALL radio may be gone, replace by apps on a screen where the radio used to be.

So remember this – it’s still only about three things:

(1) Weigh in on what’s already on the listener’s mind, or…

(2) Bring to the listener’s attention something that he/she needs to know about, but may not have heard yet. And…

(3) Do it in STYLE. YOUR style; not anyone else’s.

If you trim your focus down to these primary goals, you really can’t go wrong. You’ll always be relevant, and you’ll be unique.

Beau Weaver is an excellent Voice Actor in Los Angeles. I’ve worked with Beau on and off ever since we first met as radio babies decades ago, and his transition from being a great disc jockey to succeeding in the voiceover universe has been inspiring.

At a seminar we did together in L. A. a few years ago, one of the things that Beau said to a roomful of radio people who were looking to move into the voiceover arena was “Sometimes you have to be willing to become a beginner again.”

As this is being written, I’ve just finished listening to an aircheck from a jock who always answers comments from his Program Director with “I’ve been at this for 25 years,” a defensive mechanism that’s keeping him from learning. To put it gently, I fear that his situation will not end well.

At key times in your career, you have to be willing to become a beginner again. Unless they’re making another Jurassic Park movie, no one is looking to hire dinosaurs.

On a recent ‘listen’ to a guy in New York that I coach, he came out of a Peter Gabriel tune by saying “I still remember when that song was in ‘Say Anything’…back in the late 80’s or early 90’s…that John Cusack film…”

Oops. Incomplete prep. Not good. With all the resources we have today, there’s simply no reason to not have the information ready. He could have (1) looked it up on imdb.com, (2) Googled the movie, or (3) just asked Siri.

Here’s what I told him: People don’t tune in to hear you GUESS about things. You’re supposed to KNOW, whether it’s just when a movie came out, or what time an act will go onstage at a concert the station is hosting, or telling me about a contest or promotion. Deliver information, not just guesses. YOU’RE the authority. (Or at least you SHOULD be.)

No doubt you’ve seen “Chinese handcuffs”, that little woven tube that TRAPS your fingers inside it. And the more you struggle, the tighter it gets. You have to relax to get free.

The same thing goes for what you do on the air. Don’t overthink what you’re doing, and don’t try too hard. Make it simple, and easy to consume. If you try to do too much or it gets too complicated, that can be a lot to ask from someone who’s just on his way to get a burger.

Allways try to make each break the very best it can be, even if you’re just intro’ing a song. Simply let yourself get into the moment, and engage.